I was (perhaps mistakenly) under the impression that radioactive iodine was only a byproduct of fallout from a nuclear explosion pulling iodine from the earth. I thought a dirty bomb would not create radioactive iodine, but rather just spread nuclear material...?
The iodine is a fission by-product.
I thought a dirty bomb would not create radioactive iodine, but rather just spread nuclear material...?
Right, the dirty bomb only spreads material.
If they hit a reactor, it would spread iodine. Other, easier to obtain radioactive sources would not.